Help Me Cook An Edible Dinner For Once

[bobman0330]

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My main problem is chicken and Pork. See, I am scared to death of poisoning someone with undercooked chicken or pork, so I tend to burn the hell of it everytime I try. Beef I have no problem with, as undercooking is tough when you like your steak rare.

Any suggestions on how not to kill people with my cooking?

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This sounds largely like an experience problem. A few suggestions:
1. Practice a lot with firm recipes that tell you how long you need to cook the meat before it's done. Become familiar with how cooked pork and chicken look. Or you could just cut the meat open and see if it's done.
2. Get a meat thermometer.
3. Cook in liquid. Find a recipe for braised pork chops. You still shouldn't overcook, but this will make it less of a catastrophe if you do.

[Borodog]

Like bobman said, cook in liquid, and also cook on low-medium heat. It is almost impossible to overcook meat under these circumstances; basically you are just simmering. The worst that happens is that the meat continues to get more and more tender until it basically falls apart.

[acoustix]

Very good suggestions. I like the southwestern chicken idea. I have a meat thermometer, but sometimes when I use it, it says the meat is done but the chicken will still be pink on the inside. WTF? Should I be allowing it to sit longer before eating it so it will "cook" on the plate a bit more? I know steak does that.

[dc_publius]

Chicken breasts - buy different McComrmick's seasonings and stread on the meat. Bake for ~45 minutes at ~400 degrees. 10 minutes before finish, drain the fat from the container. Done. It's impossible to mess up and tastes great. You can try different seasnings for variety (Lemon Pepper is awesome)

Fish - salmon, etc. Do the same as above. Buy different seasonings, spread on fish, and bake at ~375 for ~40 minutes. 10 minutes before finish, drain the fat from the container. Done.

To spice things up more, you get get different jar souces that you can add when your dish is almost done baking. Trader Joe's has some really great sauces.

The added benefit of these two dishes is that they are pretty darn healthy. No excess fat/oil.

[Mrs. Utah]

These are pretty good...already seasoned, just throw them into the oven and they have a pop-up timer on each filet.

http://www.moreys.com/Products/marin...lantic_2pk.cfm

Once you cook more and more you can tell when meat or fish is done by touch.

[benfranklin]

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Very good suggestions. I like the southwestern chicken idea. I have a meat thermometer, but sometimes when I use it, it says the meat is done but the chicken will still be pink on the inside. WTF? Should I be allowing it to sit longer before eating it so it will "cook" on the plate a bit more? I know steak does that.

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The meat thermometer tells you that the chicken is safe to eat. Purists will tell you that properly cooked chicken breasts are still slightly pink, and that cooking until the pink is gone makes the meat too dry. If you prefer the chicken a little more done, either for the look or taste, that is up to you.

If you ever buy a whole rotisserie chicken, the breast meat is often a little pink, and it is very moist and tasty. These are generally cooked precisely by temperature.

When you cook a steak on high heat, the juices are driven in toward the center. Letting it sit for a few minutes allows the juices to move back out toward the edges.

[Mrs. Utah]

Rotisserie chicken is the best...its really easy to find already cooked, and just pulling the meat to use in another dish works well, salads or pastas.

My sister bought one of these
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=...asin=B0000X6EQQ
or something like it, the smaller version I think.

She is not much of a cook, and loves it! Pretty much foolproof. She uses it for everything, not just chicken.

[posnera]

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Like bobman said, cook in liquid, and also cook on low-medium heat. It is almost impossible to overcook meat under these circumstances; basically you are just simmering. The worst that happens is that the meat continues to get more and more tender until it basically falls apart.

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I disagree strongly on the low/medium heat plan. An easier way to cook meat more slowly is to sear it over high heat, then move it to a 350 degree oven to finish. Using low heat in a pan is a one way ticket to mushy, bland food.

Realistically, the only way to get better at cooking is to keep trying it. If the chicken comes out underdone, throw it back in for a few minutes. You'll get the hang of it after a while. Experience can't be taught or read in a book.

For a cookbook suggestion, pick up any of the "60 Minute Gourmet" books by Pierre Franey. He's got very good recipes with relatively few ingredients that can actually be done in under an hour. I learned to cook the year I lived alone by trying almost everything in this book.

Amazon-60 Minute Gourmet

[acoustix]

So I made dinner last night and the results were surprisingly awesome.

I didn't have time to get to the supermarket so I had to improvise a bit.

2 boneless chicken breasts
I defrosted them in the package in warm water (my buddy who is an awesome cook says this is the best way. I don't know why)
I made my breading out of: (bear in mind that my hands are small and the chicken breasts were pretty big)
1.5 handfulls of plain breadcrumbs
little more than half a handfull of Parmesean cheese
half handfull of basil
quarter handfull of Garlic powder
quarter handfull or crushed red pepper
less than a quarter handfull of salt and pepper

All that went into a freezer bag and shaken around until mixed. I then took my chicken and rubbed them with a little olive oil (very little, just enough to barely coat them). Into the bag they went and shaken around until covered in breading.

I covered my pan with tinfoil (less dishes for acoustix after dinner), and coated the bottom with olive oil. Chicken went on that and baked in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes.

I made some brown rice and steamed some broccoli for sides.

These came out perfectly. Perfectly done and juicy. My only complaint, and it's more of a lesson learned, is that a quarter handfull of red pepper was FAR too much. I like spicy food, but the level of spice almost took away from the otherwise great taste here. Other than that, it was the best dinner I have made yet, and really not too much of a hassle.


Todays lesson: Unless making something that is meant to be spicy, when it comes to red pepper, a little goes a long way.

Thanks guys!

[NhlNut]

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3 ingredients: Pasta (I prefer penne), a jar of good sauce (some kind of basil/garlic/oregano/3 cheese whatever [censored] with some flavor), and a package of Italian sausage (mild or hot to your liking). You can either skin the sausage (that sounds so dirty) and break it up, or leave it tubed, or a combination of both. Brown the sausage in a pan over medium heat, pour in the jar of sauce and let it cook on low-medium heat until the sauce bubbles nicely. Stir so the sauce won't burn. Make sure the boil is not too high. Cook as long as you like to suit your paranoia; it's impossible to overcook unless you let the sauce burn, so don't. Cook the pasta, toss it with a little olive oil, and serve your sauce and sausage over it.

Very simple, very delious, no Jedi chef skills required.

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replace half of the jar of pasta sauce with a can of diced tomatoes. much better, and better for you.